Signs of Spring

About this time we begin to look long and hard for signs of spring. So I went to The River- the Mississippi the other day to take a look. Here are some I found on Saturday as I got my first chance to explore for the new season:

A lonely ice floe on the river is as good a sign of spring weather approaching as any I can think of. Lake Pepin up river is still frozen, but the ice is diminishing as we speak.


Of course, the most common sign of spring is the shoots of green pushing up through the left-over browns. Spring green is a fragile green in appearance, but it has endured much to do what it has already done.


But perhaps the most exciting for me was the simple buds on the tree. They are illuminated by the brightening April sun. The colors are there. Life is ready to explode. Just give us a few more days like Saturday and it will be far more apparent.

(Sadly, the weather isn't cooperating. Now we have had a little snow, temperatures well below normal, and more snow expected. I look longingly at these pictures and know that spring is on its way.)